Sold to a Dead Man, I Became a Billionaire's Heiress

Richard Shaw slammed the file onto the coffee table. The sound was a dull thud in the dim living room.

"Sign it."

His voice was a command, not a request. He pointed a thick finger at the papers. "The Cooper family has promised five million dollars in investment for my company."

He paused, letting the weight of the number settle in the room.

"All you have to do is agree to honor the engagement to their dead son, Iverson Cooper."

From the floral armchair, Brenda Shaw cut in, "This is your only chance to repay us for the years we've raised you. Otherwise, you can get out."

Brenda's lips curled into a sneer. "Don't forget we picked you up from that godforsaken Rust Belt town. You owe us."

Ava Mckenzie said nothing. Her gaze fell to the name on the agreement: Iverson Cooper. A man who existed only in the obituaries of financial newspapers was now her "fiancé." She pushed up the non-prescription, black-framed glasses on her nose. Behind the lenses, her ice-blue eyes were empty of any emotion.

Her eyes drifted to the window.

A familiar Buick Regal was parked by the curb, its windows reflecting the hazy glow of the streetlamp.

Inside, her fiancé, Donovan Hayes, was kissing her stepsister, Megan Shaw. Megan's arms were wrapped tightly around his neck.

Ava didn’t blink. She watched the way she watched rain slide down a window—detached, bored. This had happened too many times to matter.

Just then, Megan pushed the car door open. She smoothed her messy clothes, a smug, flushed smile on her face as she walked toward the house.

Megan sauntered into the living room. She deliberately raised her hand, showing off the diamond ring on her finger. The ring that was supposed to be Ava's.

"Sister." Megan drew the word out, lifting her hand so the diamond caught the light. "Donovan and I are getting engaged next month. You'll be happy for us, won't you?"

Brenda immediately pulled Megan behind her, as if Ava were a dangerous animal. "Hurry up and make a decision," she snapped at Ava.

Donovan followed Megan inside, not even glancing at Ava. "Has she agreed yet?" he asked Richard impatiently. "I don't have all night."

Megan pressed closer to Donovan, her smile widening with open satisfaction. "Sister, marrying a dead man is a blessing for you. At least the Coopers are rich. Better than your dirt-poor biological family back in the Rust Belt."

Slowly, Ava stood up. They all expected tears, or maybe a scene.

Slap!

The sound was crisp and loud, echoing through the living room. Ava had slapped Megan across the face.

Megan shrieked, clutching her cheek, tears instantly welling in her eyes.

Richard and Brenda were stunned. They had never seen Ava fight back like this. Richard roared, raising his hand to strike her.

Ava didn't flinch. She just looked at him, her voice calm and cold. "I'll sign."

Richard's hand froze in mid-air. He thought he had misheard.

Ava picked up the pen from the table. She spoke quietly, but each word landed with deliberate weight. "I can marry Iverson Cooper. Alive or dead."

Richard’s eyes brightened; Brenda exchanged a quick, triumphant glance with Megan. They all thought she had finally given in.

"But," Ava said, her ice-blue eyes sweeping over each of them. "I have one condition."

She walked to the agreement but didn't sign it. She looked directly at Richard. "Tomorrow, we go to City Hall and file the paperwork to officially terminate the adoption. From now on, in the eyes of the law, I will have nothing to do with the Shaw family."

Richard’s smile froze. The satisfaction on his face twisted into stunned disbelief.

"You wish!" Brenda screamed. "We raised you for all these years!"

Ava capped the pen with a soft click. "Fine, don't agree. Then you can figure out how to fill that five-million-dollar hole yourselves."

She shrugged, turned toward the stairs, and let the silence do the work.

Richard's face was a mixture of green and white. He looked at Donovan and Megan, a desperate calculation in his eyes. His fists clenched and then relaxed.

Finally, through gritted teeth, Richard squeezed out a single word. "Fine."

Ava stopped but didn't turn around. The corner of her mouth curved into a smirk no one could see. She picked up the pen again and signed her name on the document: Ava Mckenzie.

After signing, she tossed the pen on the table and walked up the stairs without a backward glance, leaving the shocked, angry, and resentful faces of her family behind.

She closed the door to her small room, shutting out the arguments from downstairs.

She walked to the window and watched the Buick pull away, her expression unchanged.

Ava pulled out an old, heavily encrypted phone and sent a text message to her friend Leo Sullivan.

"Leo, I need a favor."